Conflicts Of The Heart
by Princess Pinky
Summary: On Phoebe's wedding night, she and Coop share a romantic evening atop the Eiffel Tower. But upon returning to their hotel suite to make love, Phoebe discovers that Coop may not be the one she's really in love with.


A/N: I was listening to my Faith Hill, _Take Me As I Am_ CD, and as I was listening to _Just Around The Eyes_, I started thinking it might make an interesting Victor/Patty/Sam song fic. But as I started thinking, I realized it would make a much better Coop/Phoebe/Cole song fic instead. So, obviously, I don't own the song _Just Around The Eyes_ by the beautiful and talented Faith Hill, I just think it's perfect for this type of story. (P.S. Just so you know, this is a one time story. There won't be anymore chapters, and there won't be a sequel.)

_**Conflicts Of The Heart**_

Powerful, warm arms encircled her waist. Her body was pulled protectively into his. She could feel the thump of his heart, and his hot breath on her neck. This was right. It was what she'd always dreamed of. She was with the perfect man. Tall, dark, and handsome. The man she'd always dreamed of.

"Phoebe," a deep male voice whispered, "what do you think?"

Phoebe Halliwell stepped back from the railing she'd previously been leaning on. She took his wrists and gently pulled them a little tighter around herself. She snuggled into his chest. "It's gorgeous."

Coop wriggled his hand from her grasp, and slowly began to stroke her silky dark hair. He pressed his face lightly to the back of her head, breathing in the scent of her herbal shampoo. Her scent drove him crazy. He loved her so much! "It looks different from up here, doesn't it?"

Phoebe chuckled. It was nearly midnight, and they were standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. She was married to a Cupid. It seemed fitting that they'd share their first two weeks as a married couple in the City of Love. Phoebe hadn't even got out of her wedding gown, before Coop had whisked her away just moments after the reception ended.

"You're cold," the Cupid observed. He touched her bare arm, feeling small risen bumps all along her skin.

"It's nothing-"

"Nonsense." Coop removed his tan jacket, and draped it over his new wife's shoulders. "Maybe we should get going?" He asked suggestively. His hand wrapped around her arm, turning her around to face him. Coop looked her over for a moment. In his eyes, she was just glowing. He placed his index finger under her chin, lifting her head so that he could look her in the eyes.

Phoebe smiled as her gaze caught his. A smile lit up her pink lips, making her all the more radiant. Then her gaze seemed to become more than just a loving look. It was almost transfixed. Possibly even a stare. And for a millisecond, something flickered deep within them. A small gasp seemed to hover at the back of her throat.

**Just around the eyes**

**That's where you remind me**

**Of someone I left behind me**

**I'm sorry if I stare**

**But you must have stirred a memory**

**And it caught me by surprise**

**But it was only for a moment**

**And just around the eyes**

"Phoebe?" Coop was instantly alert. "Is something wrong, honey?"

Phoebe shook her head quickly, breaking the look between them. "N-no," she whispered hoarsely. "I'm fine. I'm just," a cool breeze rustled her brown curls, "cold. It's getting chilly out here," she lied.

"Okay." Coop pulled the witch close to him, embracing her as tenderly as possible. He handled her like a precious China doll. That was what she was to him: the most precious thing possible. Maybe it was that love for her, that clouded what he should've detected already.

Phoebe closed her eyes, heaving a small sigh. She couldn't believe what she'd just done. _How? Why?_ But she didn't have time to dwell on her small lapse. Her vision was becoming a hazy pink, as she and her husband vanished into the cool night air, via a form of Cupid transportation.

----

Phoebe wrapped her arms around herself, as her molecules reformed and her feet settled on solid ground. It was definitely far warmer in here than it had been at the top of the Eiffel Tower. And then she felt Coop's strong arms leave her. It was near pitch black in their hotel suite. She heard him shuffle through the room to turn on the light.

Phoebe flinched a moment at the sudden rush of bright light into her pupils. And with a quick shake of her head, what she found caused her heart to melt. She couldn't help the corners of her lips sliding upwards, changing into a warm smile. "Oh Coop," she breathed softly. "You didn't…"

Two crystal champagne glasses sat at the edge of a bedside table. 'Phoebe' was painted in gold calligraphy on one glass, while 'Coop' could be read on the opposite. A bottle of expensive champagne poked out of a large, shiny silver bucket that was filled with crystal clear ice cubes, which sat just to the right of the glasses.

Upon closer inspection, however, they weren't just ice cubes. They were heart shaped ice cubes. For anyone but a Cupid, it would've been unbearably cheesy. But marrying a Cupid in the first place was already so cliché, she couldn't argue with his gesture. Following her line of vision to the bed, she could see that it was sprinkled with deep scarlet rose petals.

"Does that mean you like it?"

Phoebe nodded eagerly. "You just don't stop, do you?" Everything with Coop was so smooth and perfect. Sometimes she couldn't even believe that he'd practically fallen into her lap. After everything The Elders had put her and her sisters through, it was hard to believe that they'd just sent Coop to her as an apology.

The Cupid lifted his jacket from the witch's creamy, bare shoulders. He felt his heart give a little jolt. He quickly set it aside, and then moved to the bedside dresser. Coop popped the champagne, pouring them each a glass, and then handed one to his new bride. "To forever?" He asked, holding up his glass to hers.

"To forever," Phoebe smiled pleasantly. She held up her glass, clinking his. And then she placed it to her lips, downing the bubbling golden liquid. No sooner had she closed her eyes to savor the taste of the champagne, did she feel Coop's warm hands on her shoulders. She tensed a moment, before relaxing.

"Are you okay?" His face was right next to her ear, whispering carefully.

"Mmm." Phoebe swallowed the liquid in her mouth, and then stood on her tip toes in order to wrap her arms around his neck. She was careful to balance the still half full glass in her hand. And then she kissed him.

Coop slid his arm around the back of her head, planting a trail of kisses down the nape of her neck as he walked her backwards, towards the bed. He took the glass from her hands, placing it safely on the table next to the open champagne bottle. He heard his wife emit a soft moan when he drew his hand down the small of her back.

Phoebe's eyes fluttered. She tugged gently at his collar, and then at the buttons on the front of his dress shirt, pulling it open to reveal his toned chest. She grinned as he lowered her onto the rose covered sheets, and then felt the strap of her dress slid down her shoulder. She closed her eyes, arching backwards so that Coop could freely plant kisses across her neck and throat.

"God," he struggled hungrily with the other strap of her dress, before freeing it from her body to reveal a lacy, cream colored bra. "I love you, Phoebe Halliwell!" He touched her gently, planting sweet kisses between her breasts and along her tight stomach.

Phoebe jerked in delight. She reached, wrapping her hands around his head and raking her long fingers through his dark hair. Her body tingled, and once again, the thought that things were finally right flitted through her head. "Cole," she gasped, opening her eyes to catch his.

Then she froze, as did he. The passion was instantly gone. It had evaporated into thin air. What had she just done? No. What had she just said? Her ability to speak had vanished as she stared at his shocked and frozen face. And to her horror, it slowly changed to realization, and then to worst type of hurt imaginable.

Coop trembled as he rolled off his wife, and then off the bed. He quickly pulled his shirt together, beginning to hastily button it. A pink haze began to gather around him.

"Coop, wait!" Phoebe scrambled from the bed, pulling her wedding dress around her shoulders as she ran after her husband. "Please, wait," she begged. "I can explain…"

**Something in your touch**

**Took me back a long way**

**And made me say the wrong name**

**I wish I could explain**

**But if I had to tell you**

**Where a small resemblance lies**

**It's something in your touch and just around the eyes**

"Explain what?" He demanded, far more harshly than he'd ever meant to speak to her.

Phoebe jerked back, obviously not having expected such a powerful tone could come from such a sweet and caring man. Her lips trembled.

"Explain that while we were making love, you called me by the name of your ex?" Coop turned sharply. He was shaking his head. "Explain that you were thinking of Cole Turner on our wedding night?" His eyes flickered dangerously. "How can you explain that, Phoebe? Huh? How can you explain it?"

"I-I-I…" Phoebe stuttered. She wrapped her arms around her quivering body. He was right, and she knew it. She couldn't deny it. How could she have been thinking of Cole on their wedding night? How could she have said his name? Let alone while they were making love. "Coop," she whispered, verging on tears. "Please…"

Something in her voice caused his heart to tear a little more, if that was even possible. There was a look in her eyes that he couldn't deny. Had it been there all along? How had he not noticed it? Had he just been so mesmerized that he'd fooled himself into not seeing it? Or maybe, he had just been so in love with her that he'd tricked himself into believing that it had been for him.

But now, as he studied his bride of less than twenty-four hours, he could see that it was all a lie. That look was a look of true love. He knew it. He was a Cupid, after all. He saw it every time one of the couples he brought together, finally admitted their love for each other. But this, this flicker in the back of Phoebe's eyes, it was so much more. It was for a love that had been admitted a long, long time ago. Something that had never died. Even through hurt, pain, anger, and even hate. And that was what he stood for. True love.

"I-I d-don't know what happened," she admitted. Her mascara was tearing down her hot cheeks. "I don't know why. It was just…something in the moment. I saw his face. His eyes. His hair." She braced herself against the edge of the bed. "And then when I opened my eyes, and I saw you, I just couldn't stop myself from saying it." She pursed her lips as images of Cole Turner haunted her mind. "I don't know what it was. But when you touched me…when I saw your face and stroked your hair…something just made me say his name."

Phoebe quickly shook her head. "But it's not the way it sounds," she swore desperately. "I'm not in love with him anymore! It was a mistake, I swear! A one time thing. I mean," she looked to the floor, "the only other person I've ever had a real relationship with him. He's the only other person I ever had a real marriage with." The witch looked to Coop again, seeing the wetness on his face. "I hardly ever think about him anymore, Coop. Please," she begged, "believe me! Believe me when I say that every time I'm with you, all I can think about is how much I love you! He's usually the furthest thing from my mind, and if I could forget him completely, then I would…But I can't."

"Phoebe-"

"What do you want me to do?" She cut in. "I'll do anything! I'll prove to you that you're the only one for me. It was a fluke, Coop. A lapse that I swear I'll never have again. Please, don't give up on me now. Let me show you just how much you mean to me. Just how much I love you. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

**I'm over him completely**

**I rarely think about him at all**

**So when I look at you**

**Tell me what should I do**

**With the little bit of him that I saw**

"There is one thing," Coop said slowly. He moved towards his wife in slow motion.

"Anything!"

Coop touched her face softly, stroking it ever so gently. "I want you to admit the truth. Not just to me, but to yourself."

"The truth?" Phoebe shook her head, confused. "What're you talking about?"

"You and I both know what I mean." The Cupid hovered his hand over her heart, where his ring began to glow a deep red.

"No, Coop-"

"Just follow your heart."

"My heart belongs to you."

"Your heart has belonged to only one person, and I was too blind in love to see that. You'd given your heart away long before I met you, Phoebe Halliwell. You'd given it to a man who loved you so much that he traveled mountains and swam oceans just to be with you. He even changed reality, just to give you both another shot."

"Coop, don't! Cole is in my past. I'm over him. I've been over him for a very long time. You can't tell me that I'm in love with him, because that's a lie! The last time I saw him in the basement, and I told him that I felt nothing for him, I meant it whole heartedly."

"And you didn't feel anything," Coop agreed. "After Cole had been taken over by The Source, you felt so hurt and betrayed by his lies, which had never been his fault in the first place, that the force field formed around your heart. You didn't want to be hurt again, and it formed even before he was gone. It was why you truly thought you were over him."

Phoebe let out an angry scream. "Why are you defending him? You're supposed to be my husband! You're supposed to be in love with me." Tears sprang from her eyes, as she crumpled into his arms.

The Cupid pushed her back, smiling sadly. "I'm supposed to be fighting for you?" He questioned. He didn't wait for her answer, because he already knew how she felt. "I should be," he admitted quietly. "I won't deny my love for you, Phoebe. But even that isn't enough. I can't stand in the way of true love. I won't. It would go against everything I, as a Cupid, stand for."

"He's dead."

Coop pursed his lips. "He's still alive in your heart." He squeezed her arm. "Look."

Phoebe's eyes traveled his hand. The red glow of his ring was lighting up her black streaked face. Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed to be getting brighter ever moment.

"You never stopped loving him, Phoebe. And he never stopped loving you. And I can't be with you, knowing that your heart belongs to someone else." Coop stroked her hair. A few tears leaked from his eyes, making him look so vulnerable. It was a strange, foreign thing for a man. "The truth, Phoebe, admit the truth."

Phoebe turned away from his face, staring forlornly down at her hands. How could Cole still be haunting her from the grave? This had to be a dream. Some cruel nightmare, that she just couldn't seem to wake up from. She hadn't even been married twenty-four hours, and her own husband was telling her that she was in love with another man. No, not just another man. The man. A half man, half demon.

Cole Turner had been sent to kill her and her sisters. But something had gone wrong. He had fallen in love with Phoebe, and she with him. His love for her had kept him from harming any of them. In fact, their love had been what turned him to the side of good. It had made him a target for The Source of All Evil. He endured so much just to be with her, to prove to her that he'd changed.

Phoebe's first marriage had been to Cole. She had conceived her first child with Cole. She had vanquished him, in order to save him from a fate worse than death. She had vanquished him out of love, to set him free of The Source. And he had come back to her. He had fought the very grand design, to make his way back to her. And he had been the only one who could thaw her frozen heart, after she'd been turned into a mermaid. She had to admit her love for him.

Her eyes flickered with realization. It was shortly after that, that she'd stopped feeling all together. Phoebe slowly shook her head, not wanting to believe this latest revelation. "No…no, it couldn't be."

"Stop lying to yourself, Phoebe."

The Charmed One jerked away. She placed her hands to the sides of her head, trying to rid the thoughts from her mind. "This can't be happening!" She looked back to Coop, and then another realization came to her. It was something she'd never noticed before. Or, at least, something she'd never noticed with a clear mind before. Coop was tall, dark, and handsome. His hair was dark and short, just like Cole's. His smile was warm and genuine, and his eyes displayed unadulterated love as they stared at her.

Her mind flashed to Cole. The image was so shocking, so vivid, that she could practically see him standing in the spot where Coop was now. No wonder she had fell so hard and so fast for the Cupid. Now she could see all of the physical similarities between the two men. Why hadn't she noticed before? The resemblance was uncanny. Her heart gave a deep thump. She gasped. "I love him." Her voice was barely audible; barely above a whisper.

Coop collected his jacket, and bowed his head. "Goodbye, Phoebe." And in a rosy pink haze, he vanished into a red heart. The Cupid was gone from her life.

**Only when you smiled**

**You could have bowled me over**

**A memory out of nowhere**

**That came and went so fast**

**Don't tell me I still love him, that has to be a lie**

**It's just something in your touch**

**And only when you smile and only for a moment**

**Just around the eyes**

"Cole."


End file.
